The Yankees opened up Grapefruit League action in 2009 with an impressive 6-1 victory over the Blue Jays in Dunedin. Although all players will insist that it does not matter what happens in spring training, it is good to kick things off on a winning note.

With superstition being such a major part of the game, it is always good to win that first game, get a hit in that first at bat, throw a strike on the first pitch, etc. Speaking of having good starts, Brett Gardner led the game off with a jack on the second pitch down the right field line. He is in a battle with Melky Cabrera for the center field spot and could not have had a better start. I really like Gardner and am pulling for him this spring, as I think he would provide a different dynamic to the Yankee lineup.

Here is the list of pitchers scheduled to throw on Thursday vs. Tampa Bay:

Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Jon Albaladejo and Mark Melancon

This game will be televised on YES.

The Sunday edition of the New York Times had an interesting article on Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon. It turns out that they had exposure to the Stanford Financial Group and their main bank accounts have been frozen by the federal government. This just goes to show that even professional athletes are not insulated from some of the recent financial chicanery.

 

 

Because of the World Baseball Classic, spring training games begin early this year. The Yankees open up the Grapefruit League on Wednesday against Toronto. Here is the rotation:

 

Wednesday at Toronto: Brett Tomko

Thursday vs. Tampa: Phil Hughes

Friday at Minnesota: Ian Kennedy

Saturday vs. Minnesota: Joba Chamberlain

 

The games on February 26th and 28th will be broadcast by the YES network. The February 28th game will also be broadcast by WCBS 880 AM 

After watching Alex Rodriguez's press conference today, I was disappointed that he read a prepared statement during the first half. This event was an attempt to get his side of the story out while also trying to convince the court of public opinion that he is sorry for using poor judgment. While the first half did not come across as sincere -especially the long pause when addressing his teammates - the question and answer session was much better. For the first time it appeared as though he opened up and was himself.

One thing is for sure, Alex is sorry. The debate will rage on if this is because Selena Roberts broke the story or because he used poor judgment when deciding to try Primobolan. There is only one person that knows the answer. I hope that his explanation will prove to be enough, that there are no more skeletons in the closet, and the press can go back to reporting on the happenings taking place between the foul lines rather than between players and hypodermic needles.

After watching Alex Rodriguez's press conference today, I was disappointed that he read a prepared statement during the first half. This event was an attempt to get his side of the story out while also trying to convince the court of public opinion that he is sorry for using poor judgment. While the first half did not come across as sincere -especially the long pause when addressing his teammates - the question and answer session was much better. For the first time it appeared as though he opened up and was himself.

One thing is for sure, Alex is sorry. The debate will rage on if this is because Selena Roberts broke the story or because he used poor judgment when deciding to try Primobolan. There is only one person that knows the answer. I hope that his explanation will prove to be enough, that there are no more skeletons in the closet, and the press can go back to reporting on the happenings taking place between the foul lines rather than between players and hypodermic needles.

A-Rod is holding a press conference tomorrow at 1:30 PM. I hope he is honest and answers as many questions as possible regarding his decision to use PED's. If he is completely open, there may (and I put the emphasis on may) be a chance the NY media will move on and start focusing on the action on the field.

Let's keep our fingers crossed!

First full squad workout is Wednesday.

Thanks to Peter Abraham, here is the Yankees 2009 Spring Training Roster:

 

2 Derek Jeter INF

11 Brett Gardner OF

12 Cody Ransom INF

13 Alex Rodriguez INF

14 Angel Berroa INF

17 Shelley Duncan INF/OF

18 Johnny Damon OF

19 Kevin Cash C

20 Jorge Posada C

22 Xavier Nady OF

24 Robinson Cano INF

25 Mark Teixeira INF

26 Jose Molina C

27 Joe Girardi MGR

28 Melky Cabrera OF

29 Kei Igawa LHP

30 David Robertson RHP

31 Ian Kennedy RHP

33 Nick Swisher OF/INF

34 A.J. Burnett RHP

36 Edwar Ramirez RHP

38 Brian Bruney RHP

39 Dan Giese RHP

40 Chien-Ming Wang RHP

41 Jose Veras RHP

42 Mariano Rivera RHP

43 Damaso Marte LHP

45 Jason Johnson RHP

46 Andy Pettitte LHP

47 John Rodriguez OF

48 Phil Coke LHP

50 Mick Kelleher Coach

52 CC Sabathia LHP

54 Kevin Long Coach

55 Hikeki Matsui OF

56 Tony Pena Coach

57 Mike Harkey Coach

58 Dave Eiland Coach

59 Rob Thomson Coach

60 Todd Linden OF

61 Sergio Mitre RHP

62 Joba Chamberlain RHP

63 Jonathan Albaladejo RHP

64 Andrew Brackman RHP

65 Phil Hughes RHP

66 J.B. Cox RHP

67 Anthony Claggett RHP

68 Wilkin De La Rosa LHP

70 Christian Garcia RHP

71 Eric Hacker RHP

72 Juan Miranda INF

73 Doug Bernier INF

74 Justin Leone INF

75 Francisco Cervelli C

76 Kevin Russo INF

77 Humberto Sanchez RHP

78 Mark Melancon RHP

79 Colin Curtis OF

80 Steven Jackson RHP

81 Kyle Anson C

82 Austin Jackson OF

83 Jesus Montero C

84 Austin Romine C

85 Michael Dunn LHP

86 P.J. Pilittere C

90 Ramiro Pena INF

91 Alfredo Aceves RHP

92 Eduardo Nunez INF

93 George Kontos RHP

94 Kanekoa Texeira RHP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is in the air! Tomorrow morning pitchers and catchers report to Tampa. Positions players are expected next Tuesday, with the first full squad workout taking place on February 18th. With all the performance enhancing drug talk during the hot stove, it is great to finally get the players back on the field and hear the crack of the bat and pop of the glove.

Here is the 40-man roster:

Pitchers: Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Albaladejo, Andrew Brackman, Brian Bruney, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain, Anthony Claggett, Phil Coke, Wilkin De La Rosa, Michael Dunn, Christian Garcia, Dan Giese, Eric Hacker, Phil Hughes, Steven Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Damaso Marte, Andy Pettitte, Edwar Ramirez, Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, CC Sabathia, Humberto Sanchez, Jose Veras, Chien-Ming Wang.

Catchers: Francisco Cervelli, Jose Molina, Jorge Posada.

Infielders: Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Juan Miranda, Cody Ransom, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira.

Outfielders: Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner, Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui.

The Yankees will have 20 non-roster invitees in camp:

NON-ROSTER PLAYERS
Pitchers: Kei Igawa, Jason Johnson, Mark Melancon, Sergio Mitre.

Catchers: Kyle Anson, Kevin Cash, Jesus Montero, P.J. Pilittere, Austin Romine.

Infielders: Doug Bernier, Angel Berroa, Shelley Duncan, Justin Leone, Eduardo Nunez, Ramiro Pen, Kevin Russo.

Outfielders: Colin Curtis, Austin Jackson, Todd Linden, John Rodriguez.

Guest Instructors: Yogi Berra, Billy Connors, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Reggie Jackson, Hector Lopez, Tino Martinez, Stump Merrill, Graig Nettles, Mickey Rivers

Although the 25-man roster is basically set, there are some question marks that need to be answered during the Grapefruit League.

1. Starting rotation: How will Chien-Ming Wang bounce back from the Lisfranc fracture? Will Andy Pettitte have anything left in the tank? How will Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy perform in an environment this year where nothing is guaranteed? Will Mariano Rivera recover from minor shoulder surgery and continue to be an elite closer? Will Jonathan Albaladejo make the team in the bullpen? How will Brian Bruney recover from surgery?

2. Catchers: How will Jorge Posada come back from shoulder surgery? Will he build enough arm-strength to shut down the running game? Will he regain the ability to drive the ball with authority? If not, who will step in to be the starting catcher?

3. Infielders: How will Mark Teixeira adjust to New York? Will Robinson Cano come into camp with a better work-ethic and put last year and all the disappointment behind him? How will A-Rod handle the increased scrutiny associated with his admission of using PED?

4. Outfield: Who is going to play centerfield? Will the answer come from within the organization (Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera) or will Brian Cashman be forced to make a trade? Who will play in left and right between Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon? Will Joe Girardi be able to find enough at bats to keep everyone happy?

5. Manager: How is Joe Girardi going to deal with the media? Will he actually learn from some of the mistakes made last year?

There are a lot of open questions, but we should be able to answer most by the end of spring training.

Let the grind begin!

All the headlines in New York this morning talk about Alex Rodriguez having tested positive for the steroid Primobolan. One of the main issues being overlooked is the privacy concern regarding how this information came to be leaked to Selena Roberts, the SI reporter who broke the story.

In the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association covering 2002-2006, all players would be subject to anonymous, random drug testing during the 2003 season. If 5% of players tested positive, there wold be mandatory random tests throughout the course of the next two seasons. If 2.5% or fewer tested positive in consecutive years, mandatory random testing would end and be replaced by survey testing. The most important thing to remember is the the drug testing of 2003 was to be anonymous with no penalties.

As part of the BALCO investigation, the federal government was granted a subpoena for the drug testing records of 10 players caught up in this investigation (Alex Rodriguez was not one of them). They raided Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc.(Long Beach California), one of two labs hired by MLB and confiscated all records related to the 2003 testing.

The MLBPA currently is in the middle of a lawsuit with the federal government regarding the information that was taken. The suit states that the government should only have access to the results for the 10 players under investigation. With the case still being presented to an 11-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, the courts ruled that the information seized should be kept under seal until a final decision.

I don't condone Alex Rodriguez (or any player) for taking performance enhancing supplements that are banned from MLB, however I do believe that all citizens of the U.S. have a right to privacy. This information should not have been leaked to the press while under seal by a court, plain and simple. That fact that it was worries me a great deal. I wonder what affect this will have on the current collective bargaining agreement and any future negotiations.